Breadcrumb Trail Links
News Local News
The pilot program designates 11 Indigenous guardians with same legal authorities as park rangers within parks and protected areas in their ancestral territories
Article content
Indigenous guardians of the Nuxalk and Kitasoo Xai’Xais Nations on B.C.’s central coast have been given the same legal authorities as park rangers within their ancestral territories in a pilot project that First Nations across Canada are following with interest.
The project is groundbreaking, First Nations leaders say.
Article content
“It sure is for us, yep,” said Ernie Tallio, who is guardian manager with Nuxalk Nation’s stewardship team, a body that operates independently from Nuxalk administration.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Added Doug Neasloss, chief councillor of Kitasoo Xai’Xai Nation: “It’s historic, it’s a paradigm shift in how we work together.
“These guardians have passed the parks boot camp … if there’s an example of reconciliation, this is it.”
An initial 11 guardians passed the parks training, which includes standard government courses on equity, diversity and standards of conduct, as well as self-defence, helicopter, firearm and chainsaw safety, human-wildlife conflict resolution, and compliance enforcement.
They have the full authority park rangers do, but remain on their Nations’ payrolls, not as B.C. Parks employees. Guardians will monitor 40 protected areas, including Tweedsmuir Park and the Fiordland, Kitasoo Spirit Bear and Dean River conservancies.
“As Nuxalk, we hold an unrelinquishable su7ulm (title right) over our territories, which we have successfully stewarded for thousands of years,” Chief Samuel Schooner of the Nuxalk Nation said. “Our guardians represent the modern link to our ancestral responsibilities, and we are proud to see them take on the additional authority that comes with a B.C. Parks ranger designation.”
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
In a way, the pilot project formalizes the positive and long-standing relationship that already existed with park rangers in collaboratively monitoring and managing First Nations territories. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has an office in Bella Coola that includes B.C. Parks conversation officers, and they’ve worked closely with the guardian program.
Rangers and guardians carried out dozens of joint patrols over the years before the shared compliance-and-enforcement pilot project, Nuxalk guardian leader Tallio said.
“B.C. Parks has been a great ally for us. It was really important we built that collaboration and relationship with them.”
First Nations guardians steward and monitor their territories, upholding traditional and contemporary Indigenous laws but without legislative authority to enforce compliance.
There are 150 guardian programs across Canada, many of them in B.C.
As is the case with park rangers, the Kitasoo Xai’Xais and Nuxalk guardians do not have power to arrest, but need to contact RCMP should trouble arise.
Advertisement 4
Article content
The First Nations Guardians Network, a first-of-its kind organization that was established seven months ago, held a national gathering in Ottawa in May, which Tallio attended.
“There was a lot of interest in what we’re going to be doing,” he said.
Once the pilot project concludes in 2025, B.C. Parks will review what was learned along the way and make recommendations for how to proceed in the future, a ministry spokesman said.
“Ranger authority is really important for us,” Tallio said. “In the past we were always reminded, ‘Oh, you guys don’t have any authority.’”
gordmcintyre@postmedia.com
twitter.com/gordmcintyre
Summer subscription sale: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For a limited time, you can get full online access to the Vancouver Sun and The Province, along with the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites, for just $40 for one year or $1 a week for 52 weeks. Support our journalism by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.
Renewed calls for Indigenous oversight in child welfare cases as changes slow at ministry
